


Not-so-Dismal Beginnings

by Ensardens



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 10:32:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8841184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ensardens/pseuds/Ensardens
Summary: Balthazar is usually very good at self-preservation. He understands its importance, because if he doesn't look out for himself, then who will? Unfortunately, his mouth doesn't always agree, as his current predicament can attest to. So when Balthazar puts his figurative foot in his mouth with the wrong person, he does what he's best at; he runs. Luckily, he's not as alone as he thought, as a chance encounter with two strangers might prove to be the best thing that's happened to him in a while.Based off of the prompt "I mean I’ve never thought about it, but I guess ‘lugubrious’ sounds like a phallic-shaped word” Source: http://dailyau.tumblr.com/post/154117949349/i-mean-ive-never-thought-about-it-but-i-guess





	

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently I can only complete works if I have a prompt. This prompt did spark an idea for a series, though, so I'll be adding on to this as time goes by. I'm thinking of basing it mostly around the angels, although I'll probably include others as well. It will probably be mostly centered around the three in this story as well.
> 
> Anyways, comments are welcome, as I'm trying to improve and would appreciate pointers/criticism. I'm especially concerned that I'm not putting enough description with the dialogue. I can envision it fine in my own head, but I'd appreciate a reader's point of view on the matter, if you're willing.
> 
> If you'd rather send an ask on Tumblr, I'm http://izanablr.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thanks!

Balthazar was in for it this time. He’d always had a big mouth, but normally his sense of self-preservation worked as a filter. Not so much this time. It wasn’t even his fault, really, just a horrible misunderstanding.

He walked quickly out of the dormitory, snow crunching beneath his feet. His bruised ribs made moving painful (at least, he hoped they were only bruised), and he struggled to keep from wheezing. He couldn’t tell whether the ache in his chest when he breathed was from the injury or from the cold air. Not that it mattered, really, because either way, it hurt. He wrapped his jacket more tightly around himself, regretting that it wasn’t thicker, and did his best to ignore the twinge at the increased pressure. If he could just get to a public place, maybe he could rest for a bit…

A relieved sigh escaped him when he spotted a small crowd of students gathered in the main yard surrounded by most of the dorms. There was a crash behind him, followed by shouting, and Balthazar took that as his cue to blend in as quickly as possible.

Most of the students were goofing off, throwing snowballs at each other or trying to wrestle for control of a gaming device. That wouldn’t do, too much attention drawn over there. Balthazar heard furious voices approaching, even over the shouting, and he whipped his head back and forth before spotting two well-dressed (and decidedly _not small_ ) men sitting on one of the benches, talking. Their conversation looked intense; both were staring straight ahead while the white guy in a trench coat spoke in hushed tones, and Balthazar silently rejoiced. It should be just awkward enough to cause his pursuers to avoid looking at them for too long.

Balthazar walked over, plopping down between them.

“Do you mind?” the one in the black suit asked, eyes flashing with irritation.

“Oh, not at all,” Balthazar replied, and quickly continued when the man’s mouth thinned, “but really, boys, I’ll only be but a moment. Just until a particularly nasty fellow leaves.”

The one in the trench coat sat up straight, looking even more intense, if that was possible. His eyes narrowed as he fixated on Balthazar, who marveled at the way the man seemed to be staring right into his soul. If one believed in such a thing.

“Which one?” Trench Coat practically growled out. Good lord, was his voice really that deep?

Balthazar scanned the crowd, spotted his pursuer, and said, “Ah, the one with chin length hair and a goatee.”

“ _Malachi_?” Black Suit asked, incredulous, “What the hell did you do to piss him off? Or better yet, _why_ did you piss off the country boy with a gun collection? Do you have a death wish?”

“Well, I didn’t intend to. My, uh, mouth sometimes runs a bit faster than my brain does.”

“What did you say to him?” Trench Coat asked, eyes still tracking Malachi’s movements.

“We were peer reviewing each other’s literary analyses – stop staring, you’ll get his attention! – and I said that his passage about the potential outcomes of relying on a large government was as lugubrious as he’d intended.”

“And?”

“He thought ‘lugubrious’ was some code word for jerking off or something, and that I was suggesting that he got off on authoritarianism.”

“You implied that farm-boy likes the government?” Black Suit whistled, “You really do have a death wish.”

“I didn’t say that! I was complimenting his delivery! Either way, before I could explain, I got a debate trophy to the stomach courtesy of his larger roommate Theo, and just barely got away by pushing one of their bookshelves onto them.”

Both men’s eyes widened. “He actually attacked you?” Black Suit asked, and he and Trench Coat shared an incredulous look.

“Yes, the bastard actually attacked me over it. Although, it probably didn’t help that I said that only an idiot could misinterpret a sentence that badly,” Balthazar said, still a bit put out. He paused for a moment, thoughtful, then said, “And, I mean, I’ve never really thought about it before now, but I guess ‘lugubrious’ does sound like a phallic-shaped word.”

Trench Coat tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing slightly. “Ironic then, isn’t it, that the word means looking sad or dismal?”

Balthazar snorted, not anticipating the comment. It seemed as if Trench Coat had a sense of humor after all. Trench Coat’s friend sighed, running a hand over his face. “Really, Cas? You do remember that you have a penis, too, don’t you?”

“You don’t know that, Uriel. It’s not appropriate to assume things,” Trench Coat, who was apparently named Cas, replied, looking rather defensive.

“Yes, I do know that,” the man named Uriel said, pointing a finger at him, “because you saw no problem with doing nude yoga in the middle of our living room on the Saturday morning after I first moved in.”

Cas paused, considering. “I guess that’s fair. I’d been very used to living alone.”

Uriel scoffed.  

Cas raised an eyebrow, replying, “Are you really going to act like you didn’t join me the following Saturday?”

Uriel shifted positions, responding with a short, “I guess that’s fair,” making Cas smirk. Balthazar felt his own smile growing, and he tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach that Cas’ smirk set off. Nude yoga partners. He was liking these two more and more.

“Are you two together, then?” he asked.

“No,” Uriel answered, shooting a grin at Cas. “While I can’t say I haven’t thought about it, Cas and I are… better as friends.” A look passed between Uriel and Cas that Balthazar couldn’t quite decipher, but the atmosphere quickly shifted back to a more playful one. “Besides, if you think doing yoga naked for the world to see is bad, you should see some of his other habits.” Cas rolled his eyes, then turned to Balthazar.

“Uriel and I have known each other since we were young. I started graduate school here two years ago, and Uriel transferred last year. We decided to live together to relieve financial strain,” he said.

“Understandable,” Balthazar replied, “Do you live on campus?”

“No, we rent from a place across town. You?”

“I unfortunately am stuck in the campus dormitory, thanks to switching universities between semesters.”

Cas tilted his head. “Why did you switch schools in the middle of the year?”

“Needed a change in scenery. England can be so drab.”

“So you came to New England?” Uriel asked, obviously suppressing a smirk.

“Well, it had the word ‘new’ in it, so I thought, why not?” Balthazar replied, but he could tell they didn’t really believe him. Uriel looked amused, but Cas was looking concerned, those blue eyes searching his. Balthazar wondered what he was looking for, and more importantly what he thought he might find. But if it meant getting to know him a bit more, Balthazar wasn’t entirely sure he’d mind answering the questions he could see on Cas’ face. Cas opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a shadow suddenly looming over them.

“There you are.”

Malachi, flanked by Theo, sneered down at him. Balthazar suppressed a sigh, knowing that what came next would hurt. A lot. Didn’t mean he couldn’t have some fun first, though. He stood, doing his best to ignore the twinge in his ribs.

“Well, well, how lovely to see you again, gentlemen. We had so much fun last time, although, Theo, what happened to your eye?”

Theo, glaring back through the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut, growled out, “A dictionary from the bookshelf.”

“Oh, dear,” Balthazar said, giving Theo an exaggerated look of sympathy, “I know you two tend to misunderstand things, but really, Theo, that’s not what people mean when they say that you should ‘hit the books.’”

Theo’s face twisted and he reached for Balthazar, but before he could grab him, another hand wrapped around Theo’s wrist, effectively stopping him. Balthazar jerked around to see Cas, a rather impressive glare set on his face. Uriel had moved up beside him as well, staring down Malachi.

“Leave. Now,” Cas said, never breaking eye contact with Theo, who gulped, stepped back, and lowered his head.

“Castiel,” Malachi said mockingly, “isn’t this a surprise? Can’t go anywhere on this campus without hearing about the great and wonderful Castiel. Wanting more recognition, or am I supposed to believe that you’re some Good Samaritan, now?”

 _Castiel,_ Balthazar thought. That sounded familiar…

Cas turned away from Theo and took two steps toward Malachi, getting in his face.

“Leave. I won’t ask again.”

Malachi looked as if he was going to argue (or worse), but Uriel moved to stand beside Cas.

“He’s also not alone, and _I’m_ not asking,” he said.

Malachi seemed to think better of it. He gave them a disdainful look, then turned to Balthazar.

“I’d better never see you near me again.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I tend to avoid those who don’t understand the intended use of their awards. Really, did you not see the irony in hitting someone with a trophy given for talking through problems?” Balthazar replied, and was surprised when Malachi did nothing more than clench his fists. Theo gave them one last look, and Balthazar could have sworn that it was regretful, then followed Malachi back in the direction of their dorm.

Balthazar turned to thank Uriel and Cas, but pain shot through his ribs, and he instead winced and covered them with his right arm. Cas furrowed his eyebrows, and Uriel raised his.

“Are you injured?” Cas asked.

“Ah, well, it was a large debate trophy.”

“Uriel, do you think we should take him to the ER? He could also report Malachi there, if he wanted.”

“Oh, I don’t need the ER. I’m fine,” Balthazar said, waving off Cas’ concern.

“Uriel?”

“You should definitely see a doctor if the pain gets worse, if you have a fever, or if you cough up blood,” Uriel said, then sighed, “There’s not much that can be done for either bruised or broken ribs, but if you want a doctor’s opinion anyways, then student health is usually good for injuries.”

“Can’t you check him over to make sure it’s not too bad? You’re studying to be a doctor,” Castiel asked, brows still furrowed.

“Yes, emphasis on ‘studying,’ and I plan to be a surgeon, not a physician, even if both require similar expertise. While I could probably give suggestions, he’d need an x-ray to fully determine the extent of the damage, something that requires an actual doctor.”

Balthazar interrupted, “Really, I’m fine, and I’ll keep your suggestion in mind.”

“Are you sure? Broken ribs are painful, and – “

“Cas,” Uriel chided gently, “he said he’s fine. It’s okay.”

Cas looked back and forth between them, then dropped the tension in his shoulders, saying, “Yes, you’re right, of course.”

“Do either of you have a pen?” Balthazar asked, breaking the awkward silence that followed, then smiled when Cas pulled a blue one out of his bag and handed it to him.

Balthazar grabbed Cas’ hand and brought it up so that the palm was facing him. Cas, for his part, cocked his head and squinted in confusion, watching his hand the entire time. Balthazar uncapped the pen with his teeth, then began writing on Cas’ palm. When he was finished he let go, and Cas turned his hand around to see what he’d written while Uriel looked over his shoulder.

“There,” Balthazar said, “You have my name and number if I can ever return the favor.” Cas looked up at him. “Or… for other reasons, potentially.”

Cas looked confused for a moment, asking, “Other reasons?”

Balthazar grew a bit nervous. Sure, he’d known that he was taking a chance, but now he wondered if he’d read the situation wrong. They’d both seemed open to relationships with other men, and Cas had seemed awfully concerned for him, even if Balthazar suspected that there was more to it than reached the eye.

Wiping his own palms on his pants, he replied, “Oh, you know, if you ever wanted to get coffee, or… something.” Dear God, was he twelve? He honestly couldn't remember being this flustered, and he wasn't entirely sure why he was now. He'd just met the man, it wasn't like he had anything to lose, not really. There was something different about Cas, though, and he wanted this to go right. Luckily, his anxiety seemed unfounded, because Cas smiled slowly when the meaning behind Balthazar’s words finally clicked.

Uriel cleared his throat, startling both of them. Balthazar turned to him and saw that he was holding out his palm as well. Balthazar raised an eyebrow in question.

“What? If you actually want to return the favor, you’d best give your number to me as well. Cas won’t call to ask for help. Although I can’t speak for any other reason.”

“And you?”

“Oh, I have no problem with calling people for favors,” Uriel replied, grinning. Balthazar smiled back, copied down the information onto Uriel’s palm, and then turned to walk away.

“Balthazar?”

He spun around, looking at Cas questioningly.

“I’ll, uh, see you around.”

“Till next time, then?”

“Till next time.”


End file.
